Will Zim cricketers be rewarded?

HARARE - This week can only be described as a topsy-turvy sort of a week, with rumours flooding the cricketing world that the so called ‘Big 3’ will indeed be running world cricket, as well as a possible sponsorship deal in the pipeline for the players and domestic cricket.

To add more noise to an already confusing Tower of Babel, it is believed that eight Zimbabwean players are up on the auction blocks of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The most noticeable name missing from the list of hopefuls is Zimbabwe's best player of the shorter format, Charles Coventry, who is currently plying his trade in Dubai.

This in itself is one huge mystery that deserves to be answered.

The only reason why Coventry has not made himself available for Zimbabwe, is due to outstanding payments.

But, he is still playing and indeed scoring runs for his club.

A few more surprises in the bunch are Chris Mpofu and Tawanda Mupariwa.

The one and only reason why Mupariwa is a bit of a surprise, is because of a knee operation which left him out of the game of a number of months.

However, we have seen this strong willed lion hearted man recover from previous setbacks, and if he were to be bought, he would give 100 percent to his franchise.

This is a very interesting time for the players and fans who will be hoping that all eight players will be snapped up by the various franchises, but, if you look at their chances, you would think that four of the eight would be in with a shout.

Brendan Taylor, Hamilton Masakadza, and Elton Chigumbura have experience of international T20 cricket, thanks to the stints in Bangladesh.

Masakadza has found the slower and lower pitches hard going on occasions, but, he has also delivered with both bat and ball while the likes of Taylor and Chigumbura have acquitted themselves admirably and deserve to be recognized.

The fourth selection I believe could be between Utseya and Panyangara who had an outstanding series against Bangladesh in the two T20 internationals against Bangladesh.

However, the buyers will probably settle on the vastly experienced and reliable Utseya, who is reliable with both the new ball, and very effective in the middle overs.

All of this is pure speculation of course, as none of these players may even be considered.

But, even if half of them were bought, it would be a massive moral boost for them, both financially and emotionally.

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